Patience is a book that will question your ethics and your desire to help a loved one. Out title character, Patience is a young woman in her thirties who has Rett syndrome. She can’t speak, she is confined to a wheelchair and needs constant care and help.

Her mother, who is an ex-nurse, applies for a job working for a doctor who is testing gene therapy to cure the disease. She is offered the job and offered the chance to have her daughter take part in the trials which haven’t been tested on humans but have seen positive results in animals.

This is a book that was very close to reality for me. Without trying to make this review about me, my youngest son has a rare, genetic, incurable illness and around two years ago we (his father and I) were asked about him taking part in a new treatment that could cure him, though it came with lots of risks – including death. My son although gets sick a lot and will have to have medication for the rest of his life leads a normal-ish life, so we refused. I’m not sure had his illness been as severe as Patience’s if I could have refused, just like her mother.

It is a very touching and poignant book that hits you straight in the heart. I love that the book is told from various points of view including Patience herself who is really funny and is a very big Take That fan.

Victoria Scott is an author who has certainly done lots of revision on Rett syndrome, I presume she has some personal connection to the disease given how well she understands it. It also felt like she managed to get inside the heads of the various characters perfectly and their lives and experiences certainly felt authentic.

Patience is a book that is not only thought-provoking, engrossing, engaging, and heart-warming, it is also a book that makes you feel happy and content throughout. Seeing the world from Patience’s point of view really opens your eyes to not only how disabled people are treated but how they view the world around them and appreciated even the smallest things in life.